Ultra-X PHD PCI Diagnostics Card Evaluation

Introduction

If you’re a PC technician and make your living diagnosing and solving difficult hardware problems, you may be in the market for any tool that can significantly make your job easier. Perhaps you’re the type of person who doesn’t get the call unless everyone else has already looked at things and given up. It’s a stumper problem and you’re the fire fighter the organization relies on to give the final verdict about what to do. You need to be equipped with a variety of diagnostic tools that gives you that extra edge. The P.H.D. PCI Diagnostic card from Ultra-X just might be that X-factor edge you’ve been looking for. P.H.D. stands for professional hardware diagnostics. All systems from a lowly 486 processor to an Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon can utilize this card as long as the system comes equipped with a PCI bus.

There has always been a need in the PC industry for diagnostic tools that aid in debugging or verifying computer hardware. Some tools are equipped to just do the basics, such as show the results of POST (Power On Self Test) with an array of LED’s. Other tools aspire to a higher level of performance, and the P.H.D. PCI card is one such tool. Costing upwards of $1000 for the basic card, this is not a tool aimed at the casual user. But if you’re the type of professional who frequently has been faced with complex problems that require an advanced toolkit, then this card may be one to carefully consider.

Who Is Ultra-X?

Ultra-X is a company that is fairly well known within the PC repair industry. Their goal has been to supply the computer industry with the best possible diagnostic software and hardware. Based in Santa Clara, California, Ultra-X has been supplying manufacturers and technicians with various products since 1987. Over the years, Ultra-X has provided over 25 different tools for the PC service technician. The P.H.D. PCI card is currently their top of the line offering, but there are plenty of other models that use a more basic subset of the capability built-in to the P.H.D.